King County Bike Map on the Web

Looks like all the cool kids can now check out the miles of bike trails, bike lanes, and steep hills of King County, Washington via their cellies.

KC Bike Map



A KC staffer announced:
"We are happy to announce that new King County Bicycling Guidemaps have been printed and are available free of charge at all King County Libraries. The new Bicycling Guidemap content has also been posted on the internet and is available publicly at www.kingcounty.gov/bike . The new online map allows users to pan and zoom into their area of interest and print."

*content snipped*

"If you wish to receive hard copies of our map, please send me your mailing address, and I will mail them to you directly."

And the magic snail mail address is as follows:
King County Department of Transportation
Roads Services Division, CIP and Planning Section
201 South Jackson Street MS: KSC-TR-0317
Seattle, WA 98104-3856

Don't overlook the disclaimer, however, at the bottom of the map...
"Disclaimer: This map is intended to aid bicyclists in choosing routes between locations. This map is not in any way warranty or guarantee as to the stability of roadway conditions or the fitness of listed routes for bicycling. Many of the routes identified on this map cross or run along public roads which are exposed to wear and tear and degradation due to weather, traffic, and other environmental concerns. Riders should remain alert as routes may contain pavement rutting, cracks, bumps, expansion joints, natural or other debris on pavement surfaces, and vegetation which may encroach on routes or portions thereof. Riders should also remain alert for areas of visual impairment and other irregularities that may impact rider and motorist ability to see each other or potential road hazards. The chance that one may come into an area of visual impairment or a route irregularity warrants special care on the part of route users.

Government resources limit the capacity to address conditions and irregularities like those described above. Accordingly, route users should maintain a vigilant lookout for these conditions and irregularities. Route users should always ride with care for their own safety and that of other users. King County does not assume liability for bicyclists travelling upon routes shown in this map. Safe route selection includes consideration of motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic and roadway or route conditions".

I am sure this is a direct result of the Totten case which settled for $3.5 million rather than the $20 million sought.

Bikes near the Pike

Last weekend, the four of us headed down to the Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle. My wife wanted to pick up some Market Spice Tea. Despite my urging we travel via bus or light rail into Downtown Seattle, we ended up taking the family truckster (our 2003 Dodge minivan). Predictably, traffic around the Pike Place Market (vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians) was heavy and parking, when we found it, was expensive ($17 for about a two-hour stay).

I snapped lots and lots of photos, but below are ones that have some bike-related content. Most are not in the Pike Place Market proper, but on the next street or block over in one direction or the other.

I snapped this one of my daughter Lauren posed near a Walmart type of MT bike. It was locked up.


A Schwinn road bike set up for commuting perhaps. Locked up on First Avenue. The owner must be close by, since it looks like the front wheel is left unlocked.


Isn't the whole point of a folding bike that you tote it with you? Maybe they don't let bikes into the strip club across the street. It was nice of the owner to fold it up before locking though, less for the pedestrians to step around.


The guy riding down Post Alley just prior to me snapping this photo nailed the girl in jeans on the right hand side of the photo and kept on riding, not even pausing to see if she's OK. This is not far from where this bike-ped collision happened recently.


In the far left of the photo above, you'll see the world-famous "Gum Wall". A gross tourist thing to be sure... one that most locals don't even know about. Here's a detailed view...


My daughter was less thrilled to be in photos as the afternoon wore on. Here she's posed next to a cluster of bike racks near the Pike Place Market. I was wondering why so few were being used and/or how they determined how many to install in that area.